<![CDATA[Additional TTS Engines]]>There were some negative comments in the past about the default TTS voice. I wrote some of them.

I did a search for alternative TTS engines. There aren't that many TTS engine which can be used in MRA Next. But i found one which i like.

It is Acapela TTS Engine for Android. The app self is free but you must pay for each voice separate. A few Euro's
Because i'm Dutch, i bought the voice "Daan". This is a good voice.

This voice is a lot louder than the default TTS engine. The volume is more or less the same as Spotify. Besides this. The voice is also less mechanical/robotic.

]]>https://forum.myrouteapp.com/topic/6256/additional-tts-enginesRSS for NodeSun, 08 Mar 2026 20:15:21 GMTTue, 05 Mar 2024 18:15:24 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Additional TTS Engines on Mon, 11 Mar 2024 18:42:57 GMT]]>@M-Schrijver, That does not sound very good indeed.
But my Android sounds like this:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/CV5qdP4cRgdpfD968

The voice is clear and natural in my opinion.
Just a tad low on the volume.
The demo from the Acapela TTS is much worse:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/u3QwyjEkh5z3ES5M7

]]>https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41465https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41465Mon, 11 Mar 2024 18:42:57 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Additional TTS Engines on Mon, 11 Mar 2024 18:25:57 GMT]]>Did a nice ride last saturday.
Filtsmeister does use the default Android voice. Sometimes Flitsmeister did give some info (it runs in the background). It was a good comparisson with the Acapela voice "Daan" which is set in MRA.
What a difference in favour of "Daan" Louder and less robotic/metalic

What is a robotic voice? This a typical example of a robotic voice (female):
https://youtu.be/yHdemBdvRIo?si=duWDWleqc7P8b-Qs&t=84
At least for me. The default google TTS voice sounds very similiar (to me)
The voice synthesizer of Stephen Hawkins is probably the best known "robotic" voice.

]]>https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41464https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41464Mon, 11 Mar 2024 18:25:57 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Additional TTS Engines on Mon, 11 Mar 2024 10:14:05 GMT]]>On my other phone (the rugged one I actually use on the bike) I was able to play the demo voices indeed. They do seem to be a bit louder indeed, but the Dutch voices are really ugly (3 of them are childs voices). The default Google TTS is much clearer and smoother in my opinion. I never understood why some people call it "robotic". That's definitely not the case on any phone I used (quite a few).

]]>https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41431https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41431Mon, 11 Mar 2024 10:14:05 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Additional TTS Engines on Sun, 10 Mar 2024 18:53:28 GMT]]>Hi, I bought Rachel (English voice) and took her out for a ride today. Loud and clear - a huge improvement!
The original MRA voice is too timid and not loud enough.
Thanks for the suggestion.

]]>https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41396https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41396Sun, 10 Mar 2024 18:53:28 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Additional TTS Engines on Thu, 07 Mar 2024 20:17:28 GMT]]>@Skellum Your welcome, happy to help.

]]>https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41233https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41233Thu, 07 Mar 2024 20:17:28 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Additional TTS Engines on Thu, 07 Mar 2024 20:12:10 GMT]]>@Nick-Carthew Thank you Nick, all sorted now with Kate (enhanced) cheers Tony

]]>https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41232https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41232Thu, 07 Mar 2024 20:12:10 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Additional TTS Engines on Thu, 07 Mar 2024 11:19:48 GMT]]>@Dave-J-0, good to know. Strange though
(yes I have the volume up 😉 )

]]>https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41220https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41220Thu, 07 Mar 2024 11:19:48 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Additional TTS Engines on Thu, 07 Mar 2024 10:59:01 GMT]]>@Con-Hennekens Like you, I pressed the button in the app (Google Pixel 6 Pro) and the voices played as demo as the circle turned with no problems. That was all languages and all samples.

]]>https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41218https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41218Thu, 07 Mar 2024 10:59:01 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Additional TTS Engines on Thu, 07 Mar 2024 10:18:00 GMT]]>@M-Schrijver, The app shows me this:

7fc897ee-d738-4128-abc9-b22d014759d3-image.png

I pressed the play button and it starts circling but not any of the voices are audible. On their website some voices are demoed:
https://www.acapela-group.com/demos/

Also I see that most voices are € 4,99 except Thijs en Merel, they go for € 11,99 but both are not in the demo. I guess they are the sexy ones... 🤣

]]>https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41215https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41215Thu, 07 Mar 2024 10:18:00 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Additional TTS Engines on Wed, 06 Mar 2024 19:38:12 GMT]]>Greatly appreciate you sharing this! 🙂 @M-Schrijver

]]>https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41196https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41196Wed, 06 Mar 2024 19:38:12 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Additional TTS Engines on Wed, 06 Mar 2024 18:58:56 GMT]]>@Con-Hennekens
You can only use the demo voices in the Acapela app. So can listen and play a bit with some settings. If you buy a voice, you can use it in other app.
It is a bit of a gamble.

]]>https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41194https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41194Wed, 06 Mar 2024 18:58:56 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Additional TTS Engines on Wed, 06 Mar 2024 17:21:38 GMT]]>@M-Schrijver Good call on this TTS engine. Downloaded the app and a couple of voices. So much better on my Google Pixel 6 Pro. Thank you for the suggestion.

]]>https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41193https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41193Wed, 06 Mar 2024 17:21:38 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Additional TTS Engines on Wed, 06 Mar 2024 17:17:12 GMT]]>@Skellum I chose Serena (premium) from my iPhone voices. Once you have chosen your voice, go to Navigation settings > Audio > Voice and then scroll down the list and select your chosen iPhone voice.

]]>https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41192https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41192Wed, 06 Mar 2024 17:17:12 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Additional TTS Engines on Wed, 06 Mar 2024 15:59:33 GMT]]>@Nick-Carthew Thank you for that Nick, I can see that I can change the voice my iPhone uses (Siri etc) but that doesn't seem to change the choice I have on the MRA Next app - there are choices within the app but they do not seem to relate to the iPhone voice I have chosen?

]]>https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41185https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41185Wed, 06 Mar 2024 15:59:33 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Additional TTS Engines on Wed, 06 Mar 2024 13:58:37 GMT]]>@M-Schrijver said in Additional TTS Engines:

It is Acapela TTS Engine for Android. The app self is free but you must pay for each voice separate.

I installed Acapela, but the demo voices don't work.

]]>https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41178https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41178Wed, 06 Mar 2024 13:58:37 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Additional TTS Engines on Wed, 06 Mar 2024 13:46:33 GMT]]>@Skellum On your iPhone: Settings > Accessibility > Spoken content > Voices. MRA uses your phone voice so you should hear the same on CarPlay.

]]>https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41176https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41176Wed, 06 Mar 2024 13:46:33 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Additional TTS Engines on Wed, 06 Mar 2024 13:33:06 GMT]]>@M-Schrijver said in Additional TTS Engines:

There were some negative comments in the past about the default TTS voice. I wrote some of them.

I did a search for alternative TTS engines. There aren't that many TTS engine which can be used in MRA Next. But i found one which i like.

It is Acapela TTS Engine for Android. The app self is free but you must pay for each voice separate. A few Euro's
Because i'm Dutch, i bought the voice "Daan". This is a good voice.

This voice is a lot louder than the default TTS engine. The volume is more or less the same as Spotify. Besides this. The voice is also less mechanical/robotic.

Sounds good, I have an IOS phone and would be grateful to know how to add a new TTS voice of my choice to the MRA Next app for use in CarPlay? or is this only for use directly from the phone?
Thanks Tony

]]>https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41175https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41175Wed, 06 Mar 2024 13:33:06 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Additional TTS Engines on Wed, 06 Mar 2024 09:52:28 GMT]]>@Con-Hennekens I have no idea if additional voices can be installed on iOS, there are more than enough English voices so I haven’t looked to install anymore.

]]>https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41166https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41166Wed, 06 Mar 2024 09:52:28 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Additional TTS Engines on Wed, 06 Mar 2024 09:04:58 GMT]]>@M-Schrijver, If those voices are louder, I definitely must check them, thanks!

@Nick-Carthew, I had a private discussion with @AlexvLeeuwen yesterday (because the topic was closed prematurely..) and understood that in IOS you can choose only 2 voices for Belgian Dutch. Can additional voices be installed in IOS?

]]>https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41162https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41162Wed, 06 Mar 2024 09:04:58 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Additional TTS Engines on Tue, 05 Mar 2024 19:02:07 GMT]]>@M-Schrijver Not forgetting that iOS users have several different voice options already installed on their iPhones. I use the Serena voice which is one of the premium voices.

]]>https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41155https://forum.myrouteapp.com/post/41155Tue, 05 Mar 2024 19:02:07 GMT